Training For Your First Half Marathon? Join Us in Austin!

Somehow I managed to convince/trick my husband into running his first half marathon! He’s one of those “naturally fit” people and thus has decided his time was better served cheering me on in races instead of running them (unless of course they were mud runs). In all my half-marathon excitement I have rallied up another group of people ready to join us! Although I may not have given them much of a choice eaither…sorry ya’ll I’m just so pumped up! I love that I get to be there to watch some awesome people accomplish a great goal and cross the finish line to their first 13.1 half-marathon! You should join us! I know you’ve been wanting to start training for your first half marathon! Here’s your chance!

I am not a professional athlete nor do I know everything about running, I just know what has worked for me. So to help everyone out I have written up two training schedule options for the Austin Marathon on February 16th. These were created with the beginning-first-time-half-marathoner in mind. It is a 15-week training schedule that starts off really slow with 1 mile or 10 minute runs and the mileage slowly increases. I want everyone to see that running a half marathon truly is an attainable goal! If you put in the time to train for it, and listen to your body, you will cross that finish line!

<<<I found this picture on Pinterest a while ago & think the quote is so perfect!

If you click on the picture of the schedule it will open it up so you can see the entire thing! Sorry about that! I’m working on becoming more tech savvy.

The “CT” in the schedule stands for Cross-Training. This will help keep you strong. You can walk, bike, swim, roller blade, lift weights, do core exercises (building your core strength will help you a lot in running), and so on. Really find any kind of exercise you like aside from running. Stretching should also be included in cross training. I absolutely love yoga and try to go a couple times a week. It really will benefit your body and training in so many ways. Give it a try!
And remember that rest days are just as important as training days! Don’t over do it! Give your body time to rest and recover!

This second schedule closely follows Jeff Galloway’s easy run/walk program to finishing a half marathon. You can go to his website to read more about it.

Also, keep in mind this is for begining runners, so if you are running more you may want to just pick up and start at around week 4 or 5.

Here’s just a few more pointers I have for you with some links to some of my running favorites.

1. Find a training schedule that works for you and then stick with it! Don’t skip out on those shorter runs and expect to do great on the longer runs. They are there in the middle of the week to help prepare your body for those ever so important long runs. Yes, you may need to miss the occasional run due to injury, or exhaustion, or life and you should listen to your body and take a rest when needed but don’t make it a habit to skip.

2. Stay fueled and hydrated! It is incredibly important to stay hydrated during your runs. I wear a fuel belt on any run over 6 miles, and sometimes even shorter runs if it’s in the summer (it gets pretty hot here in Texas!). I fill two of my two of my bottles with watter and two with Nuun Hydration. I love these because they taste great, and “deliver a fast-absorbing electrolyte blend without the sugar or waste of bottled sport drinks.” It is also important to eat during your longer runs to get in the extra energy you need to keep going strong because you will be burning a lot of calories! One of my favorite things to bring with me is medjool dates. So much better than a power bar in my opinion. But you find what works for you. My dad likes fig Newtons and I know some people even bring pb&j sandwiches. During your training is the perfect time to try out different things and see what you like so have it all ready for race day!

3. What do you need? Good running shoes are the most important thing for you to get. They can be pricey but think of it as an investment! An investment towards a good injury free run and healthier life. You can go up to most professional running stores such as Run On and Luke’s Lockerand they will fit you for shoes that are best for your specific feet. Everyone is going to have something that works better for them. I have high arches and personal love the Mizuno Wave Riders. They have carried through my first marathon and then onto my first Ironman. I’m pretty loyal to them!

Beyond shoes everything else is just “extra.” Find a shirt and shorts you like, something that doesn’t rub (I’ve made that mistake before). You can get compression socks if you like. I personally like them, but I also know people who don’t care for them. These are the ones I like from Pro Compression.